Dannell Ellerbe left the Baltimore Ravens for the Miami Dolphins. (AP Photo)

To say the Ravens can’t repeat as Super Bowl champs would be premature. However, they won’t have a legitimate chance unless general manager Ozzie Newsome has another solid draft next month, followed by Joe Flacco’s best season in 2013.

It’s another example of how suddenly things change in the NFL, why it is so difficult to sustain excellence. Newsome is a terrific general manager wearing two Super Bowl rings. But a 48-hour span has dramatically changed his team. Unable to convince Anquan Boldin to take a pay cut, he traded the veteran wideout to the 49ers for a sixth-round pick Monday. Newsome figured he would lose Kruger in free agency, but losing Ellerbe was a severe blow.

It could get worse for the Ravens. As of Wednesday morning, the Ravens were still in danger of suffering two more key free agent casualties—Hall of Fame safety Ed Reed and rising cornerback Cary Williams. Reed was reportedly being courted by the 49ers, among others. At this point, Reed may think the 49ers have a better chance than Baltimore to get back to the Super Bowl.

Newsome always has a Plan B, Plan C and Plan D, and he may have to use them all. Newsome was already in action Tuesday with the signing of defensive tackle Chris Canty, and there were reports the Ravens had interest in signing former Steelers linebacker James Harrison. Meanwhile, young linebackers like Courtney Upshaw and Albert McClellan will be asked to step up. Ellerbe and Kruger stepped up last season when Terrell Suggs and Ray Lewis missed significant time with injuries. If last season did not convince you that the Ravens are resilient, nothing will.

Flacco has been a big part of that resilience, and now it will be interesting to see how he plays next season as the unquestioned leader of the Ravens. He is the NFL’s highest-paid player. He is the quarterback of the Super Bowl champs.

Much has been given to Flacco. Much has been earned. Now even more will be expected.

Flacco was brilliant during the postseason, and his teams have never missed the playoffs in five seasons. However, Boldin was Flacco’s go-to guy in the postseason and Flacco has never been a consistent regular-season performer. He hasn’t reeled off the kind of seasons that Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees have had while carrying their teams week after week, regardless of the supporting cast.

Flacco will have to be that guy for the Ravens to repeat. He has a special offensive playmaker in running back Ray Rice, and Torrey Smith continues to blossom as a receiver. Yet more than ever, the Ravens’ offense will be Flacco’s offense. For that matter, this will be Flacco’s team. No more Lewis as the emotional leader. No more Flacco deferring to anyone else, even Suggs, to set the tone.

At least Flacco has proved he responds well to adversity. When critics doubted his ability to win big games, he responded. When he gambled and decided not to sign a new contract last offseason, he won.

Now comes a new test for Flacco and the Ravens, responding to the challenge of being defending Super Bowl champs, after losing key players to free agency and retirement.

In some ways, seeing Lewis, Boldin, Ellerbe, Kruger and Pollard—and perhaps Reed and Williams—leave will serve as motivation. It will be harder for the Ravens to be complacent. They were not favored to win the Super Bowl before last season, and they will not be favored to win it entering next season. The no-respect card will be there if coach John Harbaugh wants to play it.

The Ravens have not had much time to savor their victory, and already their championship team has lost key components. For Newsome, the celebrating is over. Free agency is forcing the Ravens to retool.